Rollin' Along
by Moon Prynces
Summary: Bodie's suffering from this foreign and sometimes fatal affliction: being attracted to your best friend and crew member. Emilia, meanwhile, is too busy rolling all over the place to notice.
1. Rollin' Along

12-10-11

1:44am

Summary–Bodie's suffering from this foreign and sometimes fatal affliction: being attracted to your best friend and crew member. Emilia, meanwhile, is too busy rolling all over the place to notice.

**Disclaimer–I do not own Dance Central, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–Rollin' Along**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

"Yo! B, where you at?" she called out loudly as soon as she walked in the space.

The blonde came ducking around a doorway at the far end of the room with his usual easy-going smile. "It might've helped to actually try and look for me before disrupting the quiet."

Emilia just waved a hand carelessly. "I didn't think you'd actually be in this morning. It was a half-hearted attempt." She threw her bag to the side and started stretching.

"True. I did plan on catching some waves, but someone needs to make sure this place runs smoothly." He walked a few steps closer before stopping, putting fists on his hips in a wide stance and looking around the gym.

For a moment it seemed like she hadn't heard but then she responded in a joking manner with, "Are you saying I don't do my share?"

Bodie tactfully avoided the question by asking instead, "Why're you here so early anyway?"

The girl suddenly jumped up from her warm-up squats with a grin. "I had a brilliant idea for our next song. Got a bunch of moves in mind too. Thinkin' we could work 'em out. We could be ready for the next dance battle within the week."

He smiled at her excitement, though the timeline was still a bit naïve. But then the phone rang. "Ah, I forgot. There's a few things I gotta take care of. Just work out what you can on your own and I'll be back later."

She nodded briefly, back to her warm-up.

**xoxo**

It wasn't good to put so much stress on someone so laidback. But it was a good thing Bodie knew how to take care of things with an optimism that most admired.

Anyway, he was looking forward to a day filled with waves after his last "challenge" with the bank, before remembering his crew member was waiting.

So he grabbed some snacks to restock the office refrigerator and headed back.

"Wh-what are you doing?" was his response upon opening the door with his key and dropping everything in his arms.

Was it because his crew member had moved some of the workout equipment in an attempt to get more room instead of just walking into one of the other, more spacious rooms? Or because she had opened the gym without him there and so there were a handful of guys around? Maybe it was because she had her back to him, facing one of the mirrored walls and...and she was practicing a move that he could not wrap his head around and the handful of guys were standing around watching her with slightly perverse smiles?

Whatever it was, Bodie stood there in stunned silence as the guys cheered at her the way a crowd did when someone was dancing.

Somewhere through her routine she spotted his reflection in the mirror and paused, turning in his direction and looking out of breath.

"Hey. Finally. I let some of the guys in for their usual workout but they've been giving me some tips. What do you think?"

The blonde surfer slowly re-gathered the bags and said tightly with a strained smile, "Looks...good."

So he walked to the office and carried on in his task while the image was burned into his brain.

Emilia stared after him as some of the guys tried to cajole her into continuing.

…Bodie didn't _do_ strained smiles.

**xoxo**

She was wrong, of course. They didn't have her new routine ready in time for the next battle (in fact, he hadn't seen any more of it for the past three days).

"She's the queen and I'm the ace. And you're about to get straight _flushed_."

Emilia spit out some line he normally would have heard but his eyes were a bit glazed over with a half smile stamped on his face.

And whoever chose the song they would be dancing to was on his hit list because suddenly the four of them were listening to the opening of Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" and he was sweating just a bit while trying not to glance at his suddenly too attractive crew member and _friend_.

He was truly over-thinking everything. Especially with all the hip winding going on, and it was too much to hope that no one noticed his mistakes, small though they were.

The song ended with Lu$h Crew dominating their favorite song and Aubrey and Emilia gathering to talk casually in the way girls did.

Meanwhile he could feel someone staring at him and looked up to smile effortlessly at Angel, who had his arms folded and head tilted back slightly to regard him from beneath his visor in the arrogant way he did with everyone.

"Hey. Good battle," he said shortly with his friendly smile.

Angel muttered something in his native tongue with a grin that Bodie didn't get. "Haven't seen you dance that bad since...well." He stopped short and just stared him down.

Bodie just shrugged. "You win some, you lose some."

The latino didn't respond except with a raised brow and smirk that unnerved him.

**xoxo**

"Hey. Get up."

He felt someone kicking him, which was a feat considering he was still in bed and he could tell it was still dark. He wasn't a light sleeper and he was used to getting up pretty early for a lot of reasons but this was just cruel.

"Did you even get to bed yet?" he mumbled with lids still shut and rolled over, taking the blanket with him.

This caused his BFF to almost topple to the floor from where she stood atop his comforter.

"Of course. You know my internal clock is wired for a good six hours each night."

He peaked open an eye to notice it was four a.m.

"Are you insane?" His normally cheerful voice asked with a scratchy throat from lack of use.

"Look," she hopped down from his bed and turned to him. "I've been working on the moves and– Did I tell you what song it was? Nevermind, it'll be a surprise. But anyway, I thought we could start working on it early and then maybe head to the beach by the time its sunrise and you're gonna love it, I swear!" She was telling him excitedly.

There was a pause of silence as she stood there with her hands on her hips, waiting.

Bodie sighed to himself and turned to her while opening his eyes and sitting up, allowing the blanket to fall away to reveal his ribbed white tank and muscled arms and chest.

He blinked in surprise to see Emilia not wearing one of her usual outfits.

Somehow, her standing there in a pair of baggy sweatpants and slightly loose tee made him stare intently, something he never did when she was jumping around in her minimal sports attire or more form-fitting outfits.

"Why's your hair wet?" he questioned in a funny voice.

She shrugged, one hand still on her hip. "I went for an early run and then took a quick shower."

"You've _been_ awake?" He looked amazed and shattered at the same time.

"Small sacrifices," she barely blinked.

"Alright," he told her. "Just give me like two hours and I'll be–"

The brunette hit play on the small stereo he had in the corner and loud music suddenly filled the tiny room.

Bodie stumbled out of the bed and stretched a hand out to snap at the volume dial while Emilia stood a few inches away, watching this.

**xoxo**

He had succumbed to this because his best friend and crew member was one persistent little– Ahem, determined and dedicated dancer.

He let go of his duffel bag after the first two steps inside the gym and stood still. Or at least he thought he was still but he couldn't be sure he wasn't swaying slightly with fatigue. Either way, Emilia dragged him into one of the smaller rooms they used regularly for practice.

Then she easily hopped over to the P.A. system in the office that usually played random radio hits during the day for patrons before he noticed her walking back out with a small boombox instead.

He watched with a brow raised apathetically as she bent down, rummaged through her own bag, stuck a CD in and jumped up to a starting position.

Then he watched carefully as a song he'd never heard started and she began moving with focus, staring through him.

It started out tame, following the beat and holy sh–

He must've had a seizure because she abruptly stopped, seeming self-conscious and asked, "What? _What?_"

"What was that?" he asked back.

"Oh. Hadn't named the move yet," she looked up thoughtfully. "I guess it could be...'How I Roll'. It goes..." And then she moved back to demonstrate. "Roll forward, one, two, roll left, three, four, forward, five, six, roll right, seven, eight."

And he was forced to watch her. Even in her baggy pants he knew what she was doing, and part of him wondered what it looked like in her usual outfits. It was something, considering the move he'd seen her practicing earlier in the week was a variation of this and not as vulgar looking.

_Vulgar?_ he asked himself. He'd seen everything and done all of it! He was a dancer! He knew virtually every style and nothing was a shock.

The shock was seeing his all too attractive best friend, ahem, _roll it_ as if it were the most natural thing in the world. (Which on some level it was, because it was basically grinding and everyone kn–)

Bodie shook his head in disgust at himself.

"Just start from the beginning," he said to her, walking to the boombox to restart the song.

Every time she started to roll her hips, he could feel the back of his neck get warm. A minute into the song he was sure there was sweat on his forehead.

He was also a bit surprised at some of the simple moves she used. Not her usual style, though they did fit the song well.

"Alright, one more run through and I'll join you." He stood up and they both faced the mirrored wall to get their bearings.

Emilia eyed him briefly before looking back to her reflection and going through the moves, even closing her eyes a few times to get into it.

Bodie, meanwhile, was forced to look at her reflection to make sure he was getting this right. Luckily, he was great dancer for a number of reasons and one of them was that he picked things up pretty quickly.

He was just wishing he could go back to a simpler time. Back when watching his female friend perform didn't attempt to put images of some _other_ kind of performance in his head.

**xoxo**

"That was pretty hot," she heard come from beside her. Emilia turned and smiled with him as they bumped fists while taking in the response from the crowd.

She could tell he wasn't too excited about this song when she'd first introduced it but he'd warmed up to it quickly enough. Bodie was quick to learn anything.

"I told you it'd be amazing," she said assuredly, nodding to herself and glancing at people nearby.

"Bodie, show us that move again!" some random person from the crowd called out.

She looked to him with her easy smile and raised a brow, though a bit unsure as to which move was being mentioned. He looked bashful for a moment.

"Why don't we just do the song again?" he asked back, to which people responded by cheering loudly and enthusiastically.

"You lead this time," Emilia told him and stepped back as the song started up.

Which might have been the unluckiest move she'd ever pulled (though she was grateful she wasn't watching from the sidelines) because when Bodie got moving on what she'd already decided was one of her favorite moves, despite it not being all that athletic, it caused her to falter terribly (more than once).

By the end of the song her face was a little red, and everyone probably thought it was from exertion but...

Her thoughts were stuck on seeing her friend roll his hips in a way that–

_Oh god,_ she thought to herself. _That's what I've been doing in front of him?_

Why had she not realized how sexual that move really was?

_Oh no. No, no, no, n–_

Why was she suddenly admiring her partner's good form with that particular move?

She turned away to pull herself together, still breathing heavily from the workout of performing this song twice in less than ten minutes.

Then her mouth fell open into an 'O' as she realized why he was so uncomfortable watching her practice and teach him the moves.

**xoxo**

Bodie glanced back out the corner of his eye to see his crew member looking troubled. He chuckled to himself when she refused to make eye contact.

She wasn't the only one who knew how to roll, and he wasn't the only one suffering for it.

**xo end xo**

**Inspired by **watching the many youtube vids of Riptide's Crew Challenge for Massive Attack. When I saw it, I couldn't wait to go downstairs and play this song. Slowly making my way through Crew Challenges myself and I hadn't checked out this song on the game because I watch the vids and then try to pick up the moves by jumping into it.

Anyway, Bodie sure does this move well. XD I'm thinking there should be another chapter or two for this because the ending here isn't good enough to me. Way too open-ended (even though that is basically my style).

If I do continue I'll take out that **end** you see a bit up there and post another installment in a few days.

Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.

12-11-11

4:44pm


	2. Whiplash:

1-3-12

8:39pm

Summary–So now they've both caught that little bug and need to resolve the situation. You can't just give up on friendship. Emilia/Bodie

**Disclaimer–I do not own Dance Central, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–Whiplash: "an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip"**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

If things kept up this way they might as well dismantle their crew and go their separate ways.

But that was the coward's way out. What they should do is act like the adults they are and confront the situation.

...Now who would go first?

Well, it was actually a spur of the moment decision on her part. She hadn't yet come to the conclusion that they should sit down and have an actual talk to clear the air, and it had only been a couple of days since they'd first performed that song in public.

She got up that morning and pulled on her favorite pair of jeans and a clean white tank before quickly tying her hair up and out of the way in the same sloppy ponytail.

And she headed out to the gym where she was supposed to wipe down the equipment really quick before opening. Then it would only be five hours before Bodie showed up to take over, go over something with the finances, and she was free to spend the rest of her day however she wanted.

Except she got there to find her BFF sticking his own key into the door and glancing up at her approaching footsteps with wide eyes.

"Hey," he managed with a smile. "Was it...?" he tried to ask with a nod in her direction.

Emilia nodded with a hand going to her waist self-consciously.

"Totally forgot," he said, pushing open the door and allowing them both inside before turning around to lock it again while she headed off to the alarm system. "Was gonna start on the bills," he threw over his shoulder to be heard.

When he turned around he found her with her arms folded and shoulder leaning against the doorway she had come through.

And she was staring wistfully at his jeans.

He smiled easily, the one that everyone was familiar with and said, "What's up?"

But then her gaze swept down to her own pants, looking well-worn enough that they should probably be switched out for a new pair.

"We need to talk."

At such direct and clear spoken words he looked back up to see her staring at him for real this time. And with some amount of surprise.

Emilia gasped lightly to herself after realizing she'd verbalized her thought without _thinking_ about it first.

Well, it was already in motion...

So she took a deep breath and led them off to the room they usually practiced in, turning on lights as they walked through the place. She made herself comfortable on a spot on the floor close enough to the wall so she could lean back if she wanted, and watched as Bodie cautiously stepped over her legs to sit down next to her.

He didn't sigh or look uncomfortable, always with that easy-going smile that made her want to punch him sometimes.

She propped her knees in the air and leaned her arms on them. "I'm sorry about introducing that song out of nowhere." Then she thought for a moment. "And that really early wake up call last week." This was followed by a shrug, as she couldn't always control her enthusiasm so there was no promise for next time.

Then there was a pause, and she was grateful he didn't just say something like, "No problem."

"But you sure conquered those moves," she muttered anyway, letting her legs fall flat on the hardwood floor and becoming slightly aware of the unattractive view her behind must present in such low jeans.

Bodie glanced over and held back from nudging her playfully with his shoulder, which would have been something he'd easily have done before things got awkward.

The brunette was back to examining all the rips in her jeans. She scoffed. "Can you believe some people actually buy pre-ripped jeans? That it's some sort of _style?_"

He just shrugged and leaned back on his palms, looking down at his own clothes.

Her booted foot nudged at his, causing him to look at her. "Remember all the stories behind it?"

The blonde grinned with recognition. "They didn't get ripped all on their own, that's for sure." And he looked between both their pants. "We have had a lot of adventures in them."

"Like trying to learn how to skateboard?" She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, also leaning back on her palms.

"Your knees aren't as bruised anymore." But he didn't mention the various holes up and down the front of her legwear. "Or when we snuck in after hours to the pool that summer you worked there? The fence didn't look so high..." he chuckled.

"Totally worth it," Emilia said animatedly. "Even if we did get caught and I got fired and didn't see that last week's paycheck."

"We wouldn't have gotten caught at all if you had just waited another fifteen minutes! I knew they couldn't have left just yet."

"Yeah, yeah. We still got five minutes in the pool."

"You pushed me in."

"And you made sure I went down with you. Happy?"

"Would have been happier if my parents didn't get called and I wasn't forbidden from hanging out with anyone for the next two weeks. What a waste of summer." He was also looking up at the ceiling, maybe remembering the clear summer days when they were teenagers or just turning into adults. "Can't believe I've had these pants that long."

"It's only been like five years." But she looked unsure at her math. "About."

"Yours look so much worse though," he commented, glancing at her jeans and making her do the same. "You wore them almost all the time."

"They're my favorite," she said defensively, fingering some of the loose threads affectionately. "And I don't wear 'em so much anymore. Mostly just keep 'em around for the memories. Like how some people keep teddy bears and stuff."

Bodie laughed loudly at her comparison. "It's a good thing I've been around to make sure you don't get into too much trouble."

She smiled fondly at the thought. "We have been friends for a long time."

Both heads turned to face each other.

"Until you moved away," she added with a cheeky smile.

"Hey, you moved away too," he countered with a similar expression, minus some of the attitude.

"Typical we'd meet up somewhere along a shoreline," she shook her head. "All I remember from surfing is that I _didn't _wear my favorite jeans and...knocking myself out with the board in the middle of learning how to stand on it."

"Well, you were standing on it in the middle of the ocean."

They shared another laugh as she recalled the piece of wood rushing up to meet her before toppling into the water. Then the sounds died down as they watched each other with delirious smiles for the moment.

"I'm glad we've been best friends for so long. Even after all the moves or stupid things we used to do," Emilia admitted, leaning back against the wall and placing her hands in her lap.

She looked away after that – at her hands, the floor nearby, anything. Because this was the part where they should definitely talk about any awkwardness one or both of them had felt lately. This was the part where they (she) confronted any...feelings. Like, non-platonic feelings.

"Bodie, did I do something to upset you lately?"

Pfft, like she was going to confront her own feelings first!

At hearing his friend use his name (something of a rarity) he glanced at her curiously. And then he thought on the question and a mental image came to mind that had his hormones– Well, it just wasn't good.

This was why he avoided looking at her and shrugged once.

She scoffed loudly at herself. Subtlety was not her thing.

"Okay, you weren't really into the song. Remember that?" she asked this time in a much more blunt manner.

"It was alright," he responded with, and then chuckled jokingly. "Who knew you'd come up with the whole thing on your own."

"Yeah..." she dragged out the word while rolling her eyes and ignored his diversion. How easily he forgot she used to dance solo and did her own choreography then. "A little weird for me too." She paused, eyes looking upward while making some faces of indecision. "Weirder though would be imagining my best friend naked after having danced to that song."

Bodie bit his tongue and sat up straight to stare at the girl next to him. But she was back to inspecting her pants.

"Even weirder when you're imagining your best friend naked and doing things t–"

Bodie choked on his now abused tongue while trying to say something to prevent her from speaking any further. His hacking coughs did the job just the same.

She glanced over to see her friend holding up his hands loosely in some gesture of "please stop" with a frantic expression. At least he hadn't crawled backwards away from her like she was some soul sucking leech.

The thought made her smile quickly for a second, something that probably overwhelmed him even further so that she ceased immediately.

"Oh, come on. I wasn't the only one hiding something," Emilia rolled her eyes. "You were the one who started it!"

And she punched his arm in the way they would have usually done jokingly except this time there was a little more force to it. But he didn't actually feel it, what with being so ripped and all. Luckily she pulled back, looking as though she'd been the one physically affected.

"We've danced to dozens of songs together! Why now?" She turned her head upward as if asking some omniscient being.

Bodie looked at her like she was crazy, and then he found himself with a very amused smile and shaking his head to himself. His mouth twisted to the side to avoid letting out any laughter.

Seriously, after all they'd been through, who would've thought he'd be sitting here listening to his tomboy BFF look so adorably troubled over–

And that unfinished thought was enough to halt his amused feelings. Did he just call her _adorable?_

This caused him to stare at her, somewhat frustrated, until she noticed and looked to him unsurely.

"What?"

He let out a single chuckle of disbelief that kind of had him twitching like _he _was the crazy person. It didn't help that mental pictures of something he'd never actually seen with his own eyes were suddenly floating around his head and making his skin get warm.

Emilia could tell the tension was rising but didn't have a real explanation for why. She hadn't even gotten to the part about...about _feelings_ and stuff. Then she realized Bodie was looking nervous and guilty. He was so easy to read.

Come on, she'd known the guy since they were like fifteen or something. A few missing years in the middle just barely affected their friendship, even though they hadn't really kept in touch during that period.

Maybe this was the awkwardness they were due because of that separation. And because they'd kind of skipped over it when they'd met up again it was just waiting to bite them in the–

She swiftly turned her head away with a disturbed expression. Was she seriously thinking about his ass just now? Oh god, the word bite combined with it just set her brain on fire.

Oh shit. Now the word bite was put over his head and ass over hers in the little "sim" world in her head.

Could things _get _any less PG in her mind?

Okay, now there was an explanation for the tension.

_This is ridiculous._

And if they could read each other's mind they would know they were on the same page.

"Okay," she started and looked back to him, both seeming startled at the eye contact. "I don't really know what's going on anymore. I think that's the first time I wished my brain would just short circuit or something." And she put her hand to her head as if actually suffering. "All I know is that we're friends and I should not be having weird thoughts about you."

"Me too."

Both pairs of eyes went wide at the unintentional admission.

"I mean," Bodie continued on, trying to regain his calm and patient and not-so-frazzled nature, "that we've been friends for a long time. _Best_ friends."

Emilia nodded with a slow, unsteady smile. "Right. And I-I don't need the distraction of thinking of nakedness or biting or–" Bodie was looking at her strangely. "–or hip rolling. We're not _just _friends anymore, we're also a crew."

"Yeah," he was agreeing. "There's more going on now."

She sighed in relief that they were coming to an understanding and the nervous swirling of her insides subsided somewhat.

There was a moment of quiet reassurance, where they grinned unsurely at each other with slight nods.

It felt...great!

Until the build up of excitement caused her to breathe unevenly and him to curl his hands shakily into fists right before they both reached forward to attach their mouths together and entangle their limbs.

_Oh my god,_ she thought while they both moved frantically. This was such a better way to get rid of that tension.

Except that now every nerve seemed to be electrified and each touch sent some pleasant numbness for a moment that made her want to feel it again and again and...

He wanted to lean forward more, try to get to – couldn't believe he was thinking this – to touch more of her. Instead – Emilia being the more assertive of the two – she climbed into his lap, somehow without injuring either of them, and placed one of her knees perfectly between his legs.

There was the comfortable pressure of one of his arms around her middle with the other hand on the side of her face, fingers reaching into her sloppy hairdo. Meanwhile, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and pushed him to lean back against the wall.

It wasn't one long kiss; it was a series of short ones – each ending quickly so they could start another, sometimes with a slight tilt of the head or greater parting of the lips.

But still, neither opened their eyes in-between. Or let any thoughts cloud their heads and take away from the experience. It was all action and movement and not unlike their attitudes in dancing and life.

Except for being kind of clumsy and unrehearsed.

And there was the friction of their jeans moving against each other as they tried for the moment to get closer.

Maybe a bit closer than friends or best friends or crew members. Maybe a lot closer.

**xo end? xo**

**1-8-12**

**7:13am**

I wanted to ask seriously, where is the material you all reference after saying that Emilia and Bodie are related? I'm really willing to believe it if I can find the truth confirmed by the game and people involved in it! I've tried searching myself but I don't find any answers or all I do find are people assuming there's a familial relation without any reputable information to support it! If anyone can send a link my way that says so then I won't have to worry about putting up this story...

What I did find was the video by Harmonix on youtube where some of the people who worked on the game talk about the characters and crews. Bodie is described as being "the sporty character. He's kind of our surfer dude...ah, but more the, like, positive, older brother type." If you listen, this does not equate him to being related to any character that we know of so far. Maybe he acts as an older brother type to Emilia, is what they mean. But that doesn't say there is an actual familial relation and so I'm thinking I'm not writing incest here.

Anyway, the ending is iffy, I think. Maybe there's more to explore. Maybe there should be another chapter. Maybe...it's because tomorrow still rolls around when no one's looking and none of us really knows what "tomorrow will bring".

It was difficult to write after the initial easy start, because I wasn't sure how to really characterize them. Their thoughts or reactions to this situation and topic were hard to gauge because as video game characters in this type of game there isn't much given to really understand or get to know them (though I do try). It's why you have to try to observe all details and make certain inferences. Of course, I'm writing fanfiction here so let me just shut the hell up. And it was meant to be more from Emilia's perspective this time, as the first chapter was more about Bodie and his thoughts (until the end).

**Thanks for reading and tell me what you think! **Was the gradual build up of their thoughts and tension unrealistic in this setting? Did I push it too quickly? Did it seem forced? Should I have not bothered writing another chapter? **Is there something you'd like me to try and write?** I'm not really a slash writer, though I probably could be if I found a couple I really supported. Either way, I need inspiration and time to write – one of which I am sorely lacking lately.

7:57am

Reread, edited, I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this...

9:27pm


End file.
